Sustainable Kirtlington

Sustainable Kirtlington (SK) has been running since 2007 and has various plans to help raise awareness of climate change and to take action on energy-saving actions in the community. It was given impetus by the activities of the Oxfordshire ClimateXchange network (part of the Environmental Change Institute at the University of Oxford) which supported the initial meetings by providing speakers and covering their costs and became a CAG in 2010. Our two main projects are:

Energy auditing

In the autumn of 2008, SK initiated a programme of energy-auditing and/or thermal imaging of individual households, with the support of the Energy Saving Trust. Everyone in the village was informed and 12 households took part in one or both of these surveys. The thermal images give a particularly vivid illustration of heat loss, enabling householders to see the weak points in their roofs, walls, door and window frames.

The Flights Mill Project

SK has sought to involve the community in its regular programme of events. The Flights Mill project has engaged many people in the village both as experts in various aspects of the project, as volunteers in preparing the river and site, and in the project’s fund-raising efforts, notably its sale of firewood and other wood products. This is the most ambitious project to date.